MOSQUE ATTACKED TWICE IN GERMANY IN 2 WEEKS
A mosque in Germany’s southwestern Baden-Wurttemberg city was attacked for the second time in two weeks. In the early hours of New Year’s Day, Fatih Mosque in the town of Sontheim came under attack causing material damage, said Ali Ozdemir, the chairman of the mosque’s foundation. The window and a wooden bank outside the mosque, run by the Turkish-Muslim umbrella group DITIB, were broken, Ozdemir said. “In the recent two weeks, this has been the second attack on our mosque,” Ozdemir said, adding that the community of the mosque and foundation’s members are worried. He said information has been shared with the police who launched an investigation into the incident. Earlier in another act of vandalism, a cross was drawn on the wall of the mosque.
YEMEN REMAINS ‘WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS’: UN OFFICE
Yemen remains the world’s worst humanitarian crisis with nearly 80% or more than 24 million of its people needing humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million in danger of starving to death, the UN humanitarian office said. Vanessa Huguenin, a public information officer at the UN office of Humanitarian Affairs, in an interview with Anadolu Agency cited a new survey showing that 16,500 people live in famine-like conditions, a figure expected to almost triple by June 2021. That survey, put out by the UN’s food agency (FAO), said that by June 2021, this number might have increased by 3 million, meaning that more than half of the country may live in acute hunger.
HRW CALLS ON BIDEN TO STOP ARMS SALES TO SAUDI, UAE
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the administration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 13 to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in order to have a positive impact on the situation in Yemen. The organisation stated in a report published on its website: “The parties to the armed conflict in Yemen have continued to violate the laws of war over the past year, including committing what appear to be new war crimes.” The report quoted Afrah Nasser, a researcher on Yemen at HRW, stating: “Years of violations have shown that parties to the conflict in Yemen have no incentive to stop their violations, without a real possibility of holding them accountable.” “The concerned governments should publicly support calls for international accountability measures,” the researcher added.
‘OUR REJECTION OF NORMALISATION IS INDISPUTABLE’: GHANNOUCHI
Speaker of Tunisian Parliament Rached Ghannouchi has announced that the Palestinian cause is sacred in Tunisia and a state of consensus prevails in the country regarding the indisputable rejection of normalisation with the Israeli occupation. The statements made by the leader of the Ennahda movement came in an interview with Al Araby TV channel broadcast on January 14. On the Moroccan Justice and Development Party’s support for the normalisation of relations with the Zionist entity, Ghannouchi asserted that the decision of the Islamic party that leads the government coalition in Morocco is “unfortunate”, according to Al Araby.
US SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL LIKELY TO CONTINUE
It is opined that with change of leadership in White House, support for Israel will only strengthen. Kamala Harris, the first female US Vice President elect, despite having left-leaning stance, is a staunch supporter of Israel. Daughter of an Indian mother and the Jamaican father, she is married to a Jew Doug Emhoff and has been very close to Jewish groups in her state. She has made it clear multiple times that her support for Israel is unwavering. Two of Joe Biden’s children are also married to Jews. Jewish community is excited to be represented on the Biden-Harris ticket. It is highly unlikely that Palestinians will see better days in foreseeable future ignored by the world community and betrayed by fellow Arabs.
UN URGES US TO DROP HOUTHI TERRORIST DESIGNATION
The UN urged the Trump administration to reverse its decision to label Yemen’s Houthi [Ansar Allah] rebels as a terror group, warning the move could exacerbate the country’s dire humanitarian crisis. The UN’s aid chief Mark Lowcok told the Security Council the decision will push the impoverished nation into “a large-scale famine on a scale that we have not seen for nearly 40 years.” The US announced the decision, which will take effect on President Donald Trump’s last full day in office. Refugees International’s Vice President for Programmes and Policy Hardin Lang said in a statement: “The Trump administration’s decision to designate the Houthi movement in Yemen as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation is both reckless and destructive.
MALAYSIAN SENSITIVITY ABOUT HALAL FOOD RISES
Standard operating procedures for halal food products will be launched soon, state news agency Bernama reported citing the Minister in the Prime Minister’s department (Religious Affairs). Bernama reported Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al Bakri as saying that the SOPs will include amendments to the Act related to halal certification to prevent the duplication of halal certificates and the use of digitisation in the barcodes of halal food products. Malaysian authorities are responding to a scandal involving a so-called “cartel” of meat importers that have allegedly been bribing government officials to ensure their shipments from non-halal-certified sources were allowed to enter Malaysia. The scandal was brought to light by a local newspaper story on December 21 last. The minister was quoted as saying that he was ready to accept proposals from different parties, including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, in an audit of abattoirs before they can be recognised as qualified to process the supply of meat to Malaysia.
INDONESIA MUSLIM BODY DECLARES CHINESE VACCINE HALAL
Indonesia’s top Muslim body on January 8 declared China’s Sinovac vaccine for COVID-19 halal, or permissible under Islam. In a news conference, Asrorun Niam, the secretary of fatwa (Islamic Opinion) commission of Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), said the decision was taken based on a plenary session discussing the ingredients and production processes for the coronavirus vaccine made by the Chinese company, Sinovac Lifescience Co. However, he said the decision is not final as the body is still waiting for the final report from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) regarding the vaccine’s safety, quality and efficacy. The council said it has reviewed the report from the audit team who visited the Sinovac factory to check the production and quality of COVID-19 vaccine candidates in October.
MAYOR OF LONDON URGES PM TO CLOSE PLACES OF WORSHIP AS SAFETY
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London said that places of worship in London should shut immediately due to the risks of Covid-19 infection. Khan warned that more than one per cent of the city’s nine million residents tested positive for Covid-19 in the first week of January, with one in 30 residents currently estimated to be infected. He said that the capital’s faith communities have, from the earliest stages of the pandemic, provided practical help and comfort to Londoners of all backgrounds and beliefs. However, with the levels of the virus circulating in our communities as high as it is, it was no longer advisable for in-person gatherings.
PAK SACKS 12 COPS FOR NEGLIGENCE IN PROTECTING HINDU TEMPLE
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government in Pakistan has dismissed 12 police officials following an enquiry report that found them guilty of “negligence” in protecting a Hindu temple in the province, which was torched by a frenzied mob, said a PTI report on January 14. The government also forfeited one-year service of 33 police officials in connection with the incident. The temple in Terri village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak district was attacked on December 30 by the mob after members of the Hindu community received permission from local authorities to renovate its decades-old building. The mob demolished the newly constructed work alongside the old structure.